VR Video and Photography: Storytelling

Learn about the production and creative storytelling considerations behind shooting immersive photos and video for VR platforms as you follow a dogsled championship in Alaska.

In this course, learn how to leverage one of the most cutting-edge technologies out there, virtual reality (VR), to practice one of the oldest art forms, storytelling. With the snowy plains of Alaska as a backdrop, learn about the production and creative considerations behind shooting immersive photos and video for VR platforms such as Google Cardboard. Using both a multicamera unit with six GoPros attached to it and a Theta, photojournalist Paul Taggart shows you how to scout, shoot, and finish a photo and video story, telling the tale of a dogsled championship.You can watch the 360-degree VR movie that Paul created for this course on YouTube.

Introduction

• Welcome
• Understanding the basics of the gear and process

1. Scouting, the Rig, and Starting to Shoot

• Scouting the location for the VR story
• Understanding how the VR rig works
• Shooting the beginning of the VR story
• Adding details and characters to the VR story
• Building a story arc in the VR story

2. Gear and Processing of Footage

• Additional equipment needed for VR workflow
• Reviewing one of the first rendered VR files
• Ingesting the VR footage into the computer
• Stitching a VR movie in software

3. Finishing the VR Photo and Video Story

• Shooting VR of a big event to fill out the story
• Shooting VR on the second day of a big event
• Documenting the conclusion of the story in VR

Conclusion

• Summary